Wise, witty grannies' songs open eyes

By Mary Stamp

Combining wit, wisdom and whimsical garb stereotypically associated with grannies, Raging Grannies sing their invitation for people to think again about the issues of the day.

They peacefully protest through satirical songs that call attention to government and corporate corruption. Through the ages in many cultures, wise, older women have been asked for advice and taught values. Dressed colorfully as innocent little old ladies, they challenge today's culture that belittles insights of older women.

Spokane's Raging Grannies group is one of hundreds of groups across the United States and Canada. The local group shows up at rallies, protests, folk festivals, faith communities, Earth Day, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day March, the Women's March and other events, singing new, humorous words to traditional tunes.

They have also sung at Street Music for years, raising money for the food bank.

Through songs, they call for peace, nonviolence, social justice, economic equality and environmental protection for today and for future generations.

In 2006, Mary Naber of the Spokane Folklore Society and Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS) returned from teaching two years in Japan with a strong sense of cultural shock. At the Seattle FolkLife Festival on Memorial Day, she saw and heard a Canadian group of Raging Grannies.

Mary told Nancy Nelson, Marianne Torres and three others who formed the Spokane Raging Grannies.

Margaret (Margie) Heller, who was also involved with PJALS and a fiddler with the Spokane Folklore Society, heard them sing at the Fall Folk Festival and joined them soon after.

Approximately six times a year, Spokane's Raging Grannies sing at events. The group practices every two weeks, because it's important to practice singing the words in the right places in the melody.

Some of the songs are from the national and international repertoire available online. Some have lyrics written by Spokane members.

In the Spokane group, currently includes 20 grandmothers and women the age of grandmothers. Margie's now five-year-old grandchild had not been born when she started.

At the April 5 "Hands Off" rally, about 60 women signed up. Because some age out or leave, there is always a need for more recruits.

At that event, Mary saw a man with a sign saying, "Kill Nazis." With the magic of wearing granny garb, she went up to him and innocently chatted with him, "Violence will not get us anywhere." He seemed to accept her point.

Interest in arousing dialogue is part of their goal.

There are "gaggles," the name for Raging Grannies groups, in seven provinces of Canada and in 18 states in the U.S., plus one in Israel. The website at raginggrannies.org has a starter kit of ideas and songs for groups.

The organization began in 1987 in Victoria, B.C., and spread from there among mostly white, middle-class educated women, professionals and homemakers, challenging threats to health and the environment.

Margie enjoys singing with the group to share messages of social justice.

"We want to make the world a better place and raise awareness of issues in a way that causes people to think," she said.

Margie grew up in a musical home in Lancaster, Pa., teaching herself to play piano when her brother was learning. She studied music at Oberlin College, where she became committed to peace and justice during the Vietnam War. She returned to Lancaster and worked for the local newspaper for two years before moving to Seattle for a year.

 She then moved to Colville to work with the Northeast Washington Head Start and a Stevens County newspaper. In 1980, she began driving 80 miles to play viola in the Spokane Symphony. In 1986, she, her husband and children moved to Spokane. She continued to play viola with the symphony until 2002.

Along with her musical background, Margie said the values of "love your neighbor" and "social justice" have stayed with her from her early involvement in the United Church of Christ.

Margie shared some lyrics to favorite songs.

Lyrics by Spokane Granny Claudia Craven to a song sung to "How Much is the Doggie in the Window?" are:

"How much is that yahoo in the Congress?
The one with the pork in the pail.
How much is that yahoo in the Congress?
I do think that Beep Beep's for sale."

To the tune of "Home on the Range," Diana Kenworthy of Spokane Raging Grannies wrote a plea:
"Oh, give me a home
Where the wildlife roam
And the air and the water are clean.
Where poisons are banned
We take care of the land
And the forests are healthy and green."
CHORUS
"Home, our home is in peril
Where greed is the cause of it all
Where money and power 
Kill the bees and the flower 
And many do not care at all!"

To "Where Has My Little Dog Gone," Spokane Raging Grannies sang lyrics written in 2021 by Tom and Joy Morgan:
"Oh, where, oh where have my voting rights gone?
Oh, where, oh where can they be?
With the time cut short and the lines so long
Oh, where, oh where can they be?"

"We sing many of the songs other Raging Grannies groups sing. The lyrics are published online," Margie said, adding that others in the Spokane gaggle along with her have written or edited lyrics.

She noted that the current administration and Congress have given them much material for songs.

"In 2016, I was one of three grannies who sat on the railroad tracks to protest the coal trains and our reliance on fossil fuels," Margie said.

The three were arrested, fingerprinted and released. A week after that, three from Veterans for Peace sat on the track.
The coal trains still come through Spokane, but her hope was that by singing "No More Coal Trains" and other songs, she would draw media attention to and raise awareness of the coal trains and encourage people to think about how fossil fuels damage the earth.

Margie wrote a verse to one song she sang on the tracks to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." The following is that verse:
"Don't ship coal or oil on railroads!
It's not smart to do.
Burning fossil fuels is foolish
'Cuz it makes more C-O-2.
This old planet's getting smothered
By what we put in the air.
If we kill the earth our mother,
Our own demise is sure."

"Our aim with our songs is to draw laughter, and we usually do," Margie said. "If people are sympathetic, they love it. Some just stop and listen.

"I feel like this is one of the best things I have done with my musical abilities. It's a chance to maybe educate or change someone's opinion or move someone to action," she said.

Margie felt a sense of hope when she was at the April 5 rally.

"I was glad to know I'm not alone. To be there to sing and sign people up made me feel I could do something positive about all the frustration we are feeling now," she commented.

"The words are what is important, but the fact that we are singing also draws attention. The humor of the words adds lightness to serious issues," she said. "People see how much fun we have.

"There is power in music—both singing and instrumental—to unite people when they sing together," Margie said. "It strengthens our sense of being united."

Spokane's Raging Grannies have built friendships and feel a strong sense of community with each other.

The Raging Grannies website says that the qualities needed to be a granny include a sense of humor, willingness to speak up and learn, a sense of history, passion, persistence, silliness and friendliness. Singing ability is not a requirement

For information, email copelandheller@icloud.com or peacenik_49@msn.com, or visit raginggrannies.org.